While They Were Gone
by Punch Drunk Marc
Summary: With Natsu & Erza gone, the rest of the guild carries on until they return. However, as more facts about Arana's past comes to light, Fairy Tail finds that her demons will spell serious consequences for the guild. Companion story to "Strawberry Bubblegum" which deals with Natsu & Erza. This one focuses on everyone else, mostly Arana & the rest of Team Natsu. Some Gruvia & GaLe
1. Preview

*GASP*

Arana opened her eyes and looked around in a panic to see everything around her burning. She struggled to breathe because of the smoke and was horrified as she made her way through the Guild Hall; her friends, the people she grew up with lay dead at her feet, her hands and feet drowning in their blood. Fighting through her tears she eventually saw her father. He was on one knee, his arm bleeding profusely. His guild mark was nearly singed off as he wheezed from his throat being bruised. He looked up with a look both determination and fear.

"FATHER!" Arana yelled, tears still streaming down her face.

In desperation Arana ran to him, wanting to save her father; but she was stopped by her mother.

"Aura! Get out of here NOW!" her mother yelled in a commanding tone not looking at her daughter.

"But mom!"

"No arguing go!"

With that her mother picked her up and threw her out of the guild hall.

"Mom!"

"Take your sister and go! Argh!" She grunted in pain as she defended against the creature's attack, "I won't tell you again! Your father and I can handle this; now go! Find…" Arana couldn't hear her mother's last words to her, as the guild hall began to crumble.

With tears in her eyes she grabbed her little sister, who had been hiding in a corner, and ran out of the door. As she rushed out she could see the city burning down around her, but kept running despite the destruction all around her.

"Aura, where's mom & dad?" Arana tried to keep a strong face for her little sister, Luana. She looked up at her older sibling with fear and confusion on her face. She was only 7 years old; she shouldn't have to witness this. The death of her parents nor the destruction of their home. Arana turned around one last time holding Luana in her arms tightly as they watched their home burning down to the ground. She held back her tears as she and her sister watched the terrifying beast that caused this tragedy emerge from the rubble.

Its roar was so loud it shook the heavens. "ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!"

...

* * *

**Well here is the preview for the companion story to "Strawberry Bubblegum" focuses on the rest of the guild during Natsu & Erza's absence. Let me know what you guys think. :)**


	2. Things Move Forward

**I do not own Fairy Tail all of it's characters, locations, and ideas belong to Hiro Mashima and his publishers. Except for Arana and couple other characters I made up lol.**

* * *

Arana sat at the bar and sipped on her beer as she watched Mirajane and Natsu part ways. She knew Mira & Natsu had just done something in that back room, but she didn't know what. After staring at the bar maid and racking her brain for a few minutes, she finally asked Mira the question that was burning a hole in her skull.

"Did you two just do it?" she asked Mira nonchalantly as she took a sip of beer.

Mira was so surprised by the girl's bold question that she almost dropped the glass she was cleaning. She then turned and looked at Arana smiling uncomfortably. "No no no no, we were just talking." She laughed nervously, still caught off guard by the question.

"You guys walked all the way to the back of the guild just to talk?" Arana asked with a hint of disbelief in her voice as she took another sip of beer.

"It was a personal matter that he didn't want anyone to know about."

Arana looked at her suspiciously, "You know if you two did it you can tell me, I can keep a secret."

"We didn't do it!" Mira squealed, the whole guild looking at her. She blushed embarrassingly.

"Ok ok, no need to get your panties in a twist. I believe you."

She looked up to see Erza coming down from the stairs. She made her way to Natsu and the two smiled at one another as they began to walk out of the door to the guild hall. As she watched them walk out Arana couldn't help but feel something pulling at her from inside, but she managed to ignore and turn back to the bar.

"Where are those two going?" she asked Mira with a slightly confused look on her face.

"Those two? Their taking a break from the guild for a while." Mira answered, her calm warm demeanor returning.

"Why?"

Mira got quiet for a moment, she then looked at her sister Lisanna who was steadily petting Happy with her eyes still fixed on the door.

"I'm not at liberty to say." Mira answered regretfully.

"Hmm." Arana looked at the door once more as she sipped her beer.

As night began to fall on Magnolia, Arana departed the guild hall and started to make her way to a local inn. She hadn't found a place yet, she didn't really find it all that important in the grand scheme of things. She found one about a mile or so away from the guild hall and decided to rest there for the night.

She paid for a room and walked up the stairs. Once she found her room number she opened the door and made a beeline for the bed, and drifted off to sleep. She was worn out from all the excitement over the past couple of days, between fighting Wendy & Lucy and joining Fairy Tail she hadn't had much time to rest.

She slowly closed her eyes as sleep began to take her.

…

*GASP*

Arana opened her eyes and looked around in a panic to see everything around her burning. She struggled to breathe because of the smoke and was horrified as she made her way through the Guild Hall; her friends, the people she grew up with lay dead at her feet, her hands and feet drowning in their blood. Fighting through her tears she eventually saw her father. He was on one knee, his arm bleeding profusely. His guild mark was nearly singed off as he wheezed from his throat being bruised. He looked up with a look both determination and fear.

"FATHER!" Arana yelled, tears still streaming down her face.

In desperation Arana ran to him, wanting to save her father; but she was stopped by her mother.

"Aura! Get out of here NOW!" her mother yelled in a commanding tone not looking at her daughter.

"But mom!"

"No arguing go!"

With that her mother picked her up and threw her out of the guild hall.

"Mom!"

"Take your sister and go! Argh!" She grunted in pain as she defended against the creature's attack, "I won't tell you again! Your father and I can handle this; now go! Find…" Arana couldn't hear her mother's last words to her, as the guild hall began to crumble.

With tears in her eyes she grabbed her little sister, who had been hiding in a corner, and ran out of the door. As she rushed out she could see the city burning down around her, but kept running despite the destruction all around her.

"Aura, where's mom & dad?" Arana tried to keep a strong face for her little sister, Luana. She looked up at her older sibling with fear and confusion on her face. She was only 7 years old; she shouldn't have to witness this. The death of her parents nor the destruction of their home. Arana turned around one last time holding Luana in her arms tightly as they watched their home burning down to the ground. She held back her tears as she and her sister watched the terrifying beast that caused this tragedy emerge from the rubble.

Its roar was so loud it shook the heavens. "ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!"

…

"Ah! Huff huff huff." Arana awoke in her bed drenched in sweat. She placed her hands on her chest, her heart was racing with fear. She had that same nightmare again, and they were only getting more frequent. She got up and walked to the bathroom. She looked into the mirror above the sink, she was a mess. She turned the cold water handle on the sink and splashed her face as if to wash the thoughts away.

She looked down to see her necklace hanging in the air. She grabbed it clutching it tight as tears began to stream down her face. "Mother, Father, Luana, I miss you so much." She returned to bed and cried herself to sleep.

…

Things were business as usual at Fairy Tail over the next couple of days. However, things felt a bit…empty without Natsu & Erza around.

Lucy stood in front of the job board looking for something to take her mind off of her absent friends. She found an easy job and brought it back to her table. She placed the job on the table top and looked at Happy & Gray as they shrugged their shoulders apathetically they were all in agreement and began to gather their things. Juvia & Wendy agreed to tag along, but before they departed Wendy ran to the bar where Arana was sitting.

"Hey, do you want to go on a mission with us?" the young girl asked with a warm smile.

Arana turned around surprised, and looked at Wendy with her eyes wide.

"You want me to go?"

"Sure we do." Wendy smiled at her warmly.

Arana looked up to see the rest of her group approving of the young girl's decision; with the exception of Juvia, but she swallowed her pride. Arana smirked and got off of the stool. "Ok then I'll join you guys."

About an hour or later, Lucy's team was out of the door and on their way to their job. "So what are we doing?" Arana asked.

"Well, we are going to help take care of some bandits on the outskirts of Hargeon."

"That's all?" Arana asked the celestial wizard with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Well it's no huge job, it still pays 500,000 Jewel so I'm not complaining." Lucy answered her smiling.

"I guess." Arana crossed her arms and continued to walk forward, although she couldn't help but smile a bit.

Later that day the group was in the port town of Hargeon. Arana was slightly speechless as she looked around the huge town. She hadn't been there in ages.

"Something wrong?" Wendy asked her concerned

Arana looked down at her and smiled, "It's nothing. It's just my parents used to take me here when I was younger. I used to love it."

They girls smiled at one another and followed the group to the outskirts of town where the bandit's hideout was located.

…

2 hours later Arana and the others started to make their way back to the guild, sore but otherwise happy they completed the job with little complication.

"Wow I can't believe how fast we got that done." Wendy said happily as she looked at Arana.

"Yeah it was pretty fast…and boring." The young girl sighed.

"Well with Natsu & Erza gone we didn't cause near as much property damage." Gray said smirking.

"You still froze a few buildings anyway Gray." Lucy added curtly, the ice wizard sulked a bit.

"You didn't have to say it like that Lucy."

"Hey how about we go to Hosenka to celebrate." Lucy said happily as she faced her friends.

"Celebrate what?" Gray asked slightly annoyed

"Well, its Arana's 1st job with the guild right? I think she deserves some sort of congratulations right?" She looked at Arana with an expectant smile.

Arana eyes widened in embarrassment as she blushed slightly, "N…No that's fine you don't have to do that." She scratched behind her head and laughed nervously. She then felt a tug on her arm and looked down to see when pulling her.

"Come on, it'll be fun." She said smiling wide. Arana knew she couldn't resist the young girl's infectious smile and relented. She then sighed with a smile.

"Fine since you're twisting my arm."

"Alright!" Lucy exclaimed with a smile. "Gray, Juvia, you guys coming?"

Gray shrugged "Alright, I could always go for a dip in a hot spring. What about you Juvia?" he looked at her expectantly

Juvia blushed, "Oh…Yes." She smiled her face still red, "I'll go if Gray goes." She then looked at Arana with a look of pure malice, scaring the girl.

_And to make sure that tramp doesn't make any moves on him._ Juvia angrily thought to herself.

Lucy looked at the two nervously, she could feel an ominous cloud hanging over Juvia as she stared down an unnerved Arana, "W…well then it's settled. We're going to the spa." Lucy then began walking towards their destination with everyone following her lead.

Upon reaching the inn at Hosenka, Lucy & the girls made their way to the hot spring, with Gray going his own way. After the changed out of their clothes the girls made their way to the outside hot spring, with Arana making sure to stay behind them.

As they walked outside Arana was taken aback by the atmosphere of the place.

"Wow, this is amazing." She said without thinking as she looked into the sky. There weren't any hot springs like this where she came from, well that's not accurate. More like there NO LONGER any hot springs where she came from, and even if there was she wouldn't have had the time to enjoy them.

Lucy & Wendy relaxed in the warm water of the spring and couldn't help but notice Arana, still amazed by the sight of the sky, staring off into space.

"Hey you gonna join us or are you just going to stare off into space all night?" Lucy called jokingly.

Arana snapped back to her senses, "Oh, my bad. I'm coming."

She walked up to the water and slowly got in. Her eyes widened as the soothing temperature moved throughout her body. It was so warm and calm that she thought she would melt, she relaxed and laid back against the rocks.

"Feels good right?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, it does."

Lucy looked at Arana as she relaxed in the spring, her eyes moving towards the young girl's forehead and noticed the red scarf around her head.

"Hey, where did you get that scarf? It's nice."

"Scarf?" Arana replied confused as she moved her hand up to forehead and felt it. "Oh this thing?" she asked as she untied from her forehead, "I wear it so much I sometimes forget I have it on. I got it from my parents when I was a little girl." She smiled warmly.

"Oh, they must have been a pretty cool people."

"Yeah they were." Arana said with a longing smile, "They died when I was 10."

The mood grew somber as Wendy & Lucy looked at one another with sorrow.

"I…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." Lucy said regretfully.

"Don't worry about it, didn't mean to bring the mood down." She smiled as she tied the scarf around her head and looked around the bath.

"Hey, where's that scary rain woman?"

"You mean Juvia?" Lucy inquired as she looked around the spring, "I don't know I thought she was right behind us."

"I think she said something about finding Gray." Wendy said relaxed.

"She what?" Lucy asked nervously trying to confirm what Wendy had said.

"AAGGGHHHHHH!" A familiar voice yelled from the other side of the inn.

"What was that?" Arana asked slightly scared.

"That sounded like…" Lucy trailed off

"Juvia! What the hell are you doing here? This is the MEN'S side!" It was Gray.

"Don't be so modest Gray, you always disrobe in the Guild Hall." And that was most definitely Juvia.

"That's different, you can't be here! Go!"

"Don't be so embarrassed my prince, I love you all the same!"

Back in the women's bath: Arana, Lucy, & Wendy could hear the commotion and couldn't help but laugh.

Their warm laughter filled the air and lasted until they got out of the springs.

After things had died down, everyone returned to their room and proceeded to go to sleep. All except for Arana, she sat up on her bed and looked at the picture in her locket as she did every night. Something about the ritual made her feel as if her family was still with her.

When she had had enough of looking into it, she laid down and tried to sleep.

_I wonder how much time I have left._

…

* * *

**Well here is the 1st chapter of the story. As I said earlier it takes place side by side with "Strawberry Bubblegum" (which follows Nastu & Erza), but they won't cross over until the end. Please let me know what you guys think. R&R :)**


	3. The Next Mission

Arana sat at the bar in the guild hall, dazed & confused.

Mira was busy cleaning glasses when she looked over to Arana, noticing the girl's groggy state. "You look sick?" she asked with a smile.

Arana quickly looked up at the barmaid as her concentration broke. "Oh, no it's nothing, I'm still a bit hung over." She said groaning.

Mira giggled softly, "Well that's what happens when you challenge Cana Alberona to a drinking contest."

Arana grumbled, "Ugh, I thought I could beat her." She placed her right arm on her head as it began to ache, Mira continued to laugh at Arana's sorry state; but couldn't help but notice the mark on her forearm.

"That's a nice tattoo. It looks a dragon, is that a sword going through the middle of it?" Mira asked trying to strike up a conversation. Arana looked confused at first by what Mira was asking, but when she looked at her arm she smiled softly, "Yeah, It's my families crest. Both my parents and my little sister have it somewhere on their bodies." "I didn't know you had a little sister." Mira said cheerfully. "Yeah, she passed away a couple years ago." Arana replied.

A look of regret washed over Mira's face, "I'm sorry to hear about that."

"It's ok, you don't have to apologize." Arana smiled softly. "I know losing anyone, especially a sibling can be hard." Mira said as she looked at Lisanna who was talking to Elfman & Happy. "There was a time where Elfman & I had thought we had lost Lisanna."

Arana's eyes opened wide, as she continued to listen to Mirajane speak. "There are days when I still think she died that night and that this all some wonderful dream." She then looked back at Arana with a warm smile on her face, "I need to stop thinking like that, it's not fair to Lisanna or Elfman. As the oldest I need to be the strong one. If I falter, who will they have left to believe in?"

Mira then placed her hand on Arana's chest, "Your sister may be gone, but you can't forget the time you two shared together. The time your entire family shared together. Keep them alive in your heart, and if the burden ever becomes too much to bear, you can always talk to me or anyone else at the guild; we're a family that's what we're here for."

Arana's eyes grew wider as she looked around the guild at everyone else. They were all smiling, laughing, and enjoying themselves; she hadn't see that in years, she had only known fear and despair for years. Her eyes eventually fell on the table where Wendy, Lucy, Gray, & Juvia was sitting. Wendy looked at her and smiled, waving for Arana to join them.

Arana nodded and looked back at Mira who was still smiling at her. "Thank you Mirajane." She said heartfelt, tears almost welling up. "Anytime dear." Mira replied, "Why don't you go join the others? Looks like Wendy has something to tell you." Arana got up from the bar and smiled, "Alright, I'll talk to you later." She walked off as she waved to Mira.

…

Arana arrived at the groups table and sat down. Apparently they had found another job and by the looks of their faces, they wanted Arana to join them again.

"You guys sure you want me on this mission?" She asked smiling wryly.

Wendy nodded happily, "Of course we want you to come with us."

Arana looked around the rest of the table as they smiled at her. "Who else could we want?" Lucy asked her. Gray chimed in, "Yeah we worked pretty well together last time, so it'll be fine." Juvia still looked sort of hesitant, "Well if Gray is fine with it so am I." Her face grew dark.

"You just stay from my love." Juvia said in a haunting voice, slightly scaring Arana. She waved her hands back and forth as her face grew frightened, "Don't worry, I won't ha-ha." She laughed nervously.

Juvia's face reset and she smiled softly, the complete opposite of she was previously. "Good."

Arana gained a hold of herself, and cleared her throat before she spoke. "Well when do we leave?" she asked the group.

"We'll be leaving in about an hour, we're waiting on a couple more people." Lucy replied.

"Who?" Arana asked looking slightly confused.

"Us." Arana heard a slightly gravelly voice behind her and turned around suddenly and her eyes widened as she looked up the two people standing behind her. A man with long black hair and piercings above both of his eyes, his ears, running down the sides of his nose, and his forearms. He wore a black tunic, while a bit ragged it still managed to look cool on him, or at least Arana thought so, he wore beige pants and studded black boots. There was an intimidating air about him, but she sensed he meant her no harm.

The girl next to him was half his size, but she still managed to stand out on her own. She had short wavy blue hair which stopped just above her shoulder blades. She wore a yellow bandana and a short orange dress with white accents on it that looked cute on her, she was obviously the nicer of the two. Any person who wasn't a part of the guild, or in Magnolia would have thought these two very opposite people would never be seen together, but Arana had already seen them once in Lumina; but even before that she knew of them.

Lucy stood up to introduce the two figures to Arana. "Arana I know you may not remember from when we met in Lumina; but this is…"

Arana cut Lucy off before she could finish introductions, "Gajeel Redfox & Levy McGarden." She continued to look at them with a look of pleasant surprise.

Lucy looked genuinely surprised, "Uh…yeah, how did you know?"

"Well where I come from, everyone knows who these two are."

Levy blushed and looked up at Gajeel she then looked back at Arana, "Really? They know me?"

Arana nodded and smiled, "Yeah, they do."

Gajeel smirked cockily, "Well of course they know me, I'm Black Steel Gajeel. Everyone's heard of the Iron Dragon Slayer."

Levy looked slightly annoyed at her companion, "Great now you've gone and boosted his ego."

"Shut up." Gajeel said slightly blushing.

"Are we ready to go now?" Arana asked slightly impatient.

"No, we're still waiting on someone else." Gray said as he leaned back in his seat.

"I'm sorry I'm late guys." A white haired girl ran to the table and hunched over tired, she was panting a bit, clearly out of breath. She then looked up at the group and smiled, it was Lisanna Strauss. "I had to leave Happy with Mira & Elfman while I was gone."

"He could have come with us you know." Lucy stated.

"I know, I asked him if he wanted to but he said he didn't wanna be away from the guild hall in case Natsu came back."

"He really misses him doesn't he?" Lucy asked Lisanna smiling.

"Yeah he does, he hasn't been away from Natsu this long before. He's just worried, I kind of am too." She clutched her hand lightly as she stated her thought.

"I wouldn't worry about Salamander." Gajeel said reassuring her.

"Yeah, that idiot will be fine, plus he's with Erza she wouldn't let anything happen to him." Gray added after.

Lisanna smiled and nodded, "Yeah you're right, I'm sure they're fine. Are we ready to go?" she asked looking at everyone; they all nodded back, with the exception of Arana who was looking down at her feet nervously.

"You alright Arana?" Lucy asked.

Arana looked up and smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine; let's go."

Lucy, Arana, Wendy, Juvia, & Gray arose from the table and walked out of the guild hall along with Gajeel, Levy, & Lisanna.

"Since the monster we're chasing was sighted all the way in Oshibana, we'll have to take the train." Levy told the group as she read the job request.

"Looks like we're taking the train then." Lucy said as she stretched her arms above her head.

Arana's face grew white with fear. "We have to take a train?" she asked nervously.

Lucy turned around confused, "Well yeah, otherwise it will take forever to get to Oshibana."

Arana sighed, "Alright, fine I guess; if we have to."

The group arrived the Magnolia train station and boarded the train headed for Oshibana; suffice to say Arana didn't handle the ride that well. Her face was slightly pale as she sat against the window, she was never really good with trains or any other vehicles for that matter, so whenever she could she avoided using them to get around; much to her parent's chagrin. As the ride to Oshibana continued, Arana thought she could get some relief by resting; so she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

…

Arana could smell the burning flesh of dead bodies as she ran through town, clutching Luana tightly to her body. The skies were black from the smoke as the buildings around her crumbled. Luana tugged at her shirt.

"Aura, where are mom & dad?" She looked into her little sister's eyes, but she didn't have the heart to tell her sibling that they were most likely dead. She looked forward again and kept running. "Auraaa." Her sister began to whine again.

"Quiet Luana, I'm trying to think."

What was mom talking about? Who did she want me to find? Who is even still alive?

She ran as fast as she could, still clutching her sister tightly to her; but stopped in her tracks when she saw _his_ men on the a little ways in front of her.

She tried to turn around and go back the way she came, but it was too late; one of the men spotted her.

"Hey! She must be from the guild as well, get her!" the man shouted to his comrades as they began to chase Arana.

"Dammit!" she began to run faster, still clutching her sister tightly praying that she could find a place they would be safe. Arana's legs began to give out, she was at her limit. Luana began to tear up seeing her sister in her state as the men began to close in on them. Suddenly something grabbed them and pulled them into a nearby alleyway.

"Hey who are…" Arana began to yell, but the hooded figure placed their hands over the sister's mouths as the goons ran by the alley.

When the coast was clear, they removed their hands and took off their hood, revealing their identity to the two sisters.

Luana's eyes opened her eyes wide with happiness, "I missed you!" she exclaimed happily as she ran over to hug them.

"I missed you guys too." The figure said softly. There was no mistake, it was a woman's voice. Despite everything happening around them, the death and destruction, the woman's voice remained soft and calm; Arana knew it could only be one person.

…

"Hey Arana, wake up; we're here." Wendy said as she shook her friend back into reality. Arana awoke and groggily wiped her eyes. "What we're here?" she asked still tired.

Wendy nodded, "Yes, we just arrived; come on everyone is waiting for us." Arana slowly got up from her seat. She and Wendy proceeded to get their luggage and exit the train to rejoin the rest of the group.

"You were talking in your sleep." Wendy said as they walked toward the others. Arana's eyes opened in shock. _Does she know?_

Wendy smiled and looked at Arana, "Don't worry, it was nothing embarrassing." She then looked down at the ground sullenly, "Was Luana the name of your sister?" She then quickly looked up at Arana, "I'm sorry if I'm intruding, it's just you were saying her name a lot while you slept."

"It's ok." Arana reassured her smiling, "Yes that was my little sister's name." she clutched her locket.

"I'm sorry for you loss." Wendy said mournfully, "I know how it feels to lose family.  
Wendy looked into the sky and thought of her time in Cait Shelter. She then looked back at her friend, "I'm here for you if you ever wanna talk." She smiled warmly.

"I know, thank you Wendy." The two continued to talk about odds and ends as the rejoined their friends. "Alright everybody, let's get this mission started." Lucy said with a smile as she raised her arm in the air.

"Right." Everyone said in unison.

…

* * *

**Part 2 is up, some more development in here. Trying to get Arana connected with more members of the guild; hopefully i'm doing it right lol. Anyway chapter's 3 & 4 are going to be where the reveals start to come into play; with Arana's origin being explained in chapter 4, so be on the look out lol. R&R please :).**


	4. Revelations

Lucy & the gang walked around Oshibana until they reached the mayor's office. Lucy, Arana, & Gray went inside as everyone stayed outside and waited for them to return.

Juvia, a bit upset that she couldn't go in with Gray walked over to where Gajeel and the others were resting. Gajeel stood against a pillar in at the bottom of the building steps, while Levy & Wendy sat at a nearby table. Juvia walked over to Gajeel with a long look on her face.

Gajeel glanced at her when she stood next to him then returned to looking out at the street. "What's the matter with you?" He asked his old friend without looking at her.

"What do you think of that new girl that joined the guild?" Juvia asked with a slightly irritated look on her face.

"Who? The redhead?" Gajeel asked as Juvia nodded to confirm his suspicions. "Honestly, I don't care if she has a nice attitude or not; as long as she's strong. Besides if Wendy & Salamander like her, I have no reason to complain." He said bluntly.

Juvia chuckled a bit at his answer, "I shouldn't have expected a different answer out of you Gajeel."

"Then why did you ask?"

"I don't know…there is just something, off about her. She came out of nowhere and just joined the guild without a second thought, I mean she was our enemy when we fought in Lumina. You don't find that odd?"

Gajeel folded his arms in front of himself and looked down with his eyes closed as he thought about Juvia's question. He then opened his eyes and looked up into the air. "If I remember right we fought Fairy Tail when were still with Phantom, so I don't think we have room to judge." Juvia looked down slightly disappointed in herself for asking something so hypocritical.

"You're right, I shouldn't be so quick to judge her."

"But you are right, there is something odd about that girl." Gajeel said still not looking at Juvia.

She looked up at him slightly confused at his words. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. I can't really explain it but, something about her scent is familiar; it's like a mix of scents I've smelled before but I can't place them."

Juvia now looked a bit interested in Gajeel's observation, "What does that mean?"

"I don't know, it's probably nothing. Don't worry about it." He then closed his eyes again and Juvia knew that their brief conversation was over. Juvia stood and swam in her thoughts.

_Gajeel's probably right, but I still can't feel a bit uneasy around her. Like she's hiding something._ Her mind began to wander and she started to think about Arana getting closer to Gray. Juvia's blood began to boil as her imagination ran wild.

"She better not make a move on my Gray!" She exclaimed without thinking; startling Levy & Wendy who looked at her from the table.

"Is Juvia ok?" Wendy asked slightly concerned.

Levy looked at the young girl and smiled, "Don't worry she's fine, her imagination is just getting the better of her again." Levy then sighed and looked atop the steps till her eyes were upon the doors of city hall. "I wonder how much longer they'll be in there."

…

Lucy, Gray, & Arana walked through the huge building as they made their way to the mayor's office at the end of the hall. Arana's head was twisting and turning the entire time as she marveled at all of the paintings and statues around them.

"Amazing." She said with a smile as she continued to walk.

"You're easily amused aren't you?" Gray said with a smirk.

Arana quickly caught herself and laughed nervously, "Sorry I didn't get out much as a kid. I never really got to see much of things like this."

"Sheltered kid huh?"

"Yeah." Arana then heard the screams of people in the streets in her mind as she quickly flashbacked to her and her sister hiding in an alleyway. "You could say that." She said when she came back to reality.

"Here we are guys, the mayor of Oshibana's office." Lucy said with a big smile, "Let's go in."

She opened the door and the three wizards walked into the spacious office. Various charts and city maps were hanging on the walls and a globe in the right corner of the room. The three of them walked towards the sizeable brown desk at the end of the room.

"Excuse me Mr. Mayor" Lucy started to speak as a brown haired man in a black suit looked up at them, "My name is Lucy Heartfilia," she then pointed at her companions, "This is Gray Fullbuster & Arana Stratos. We're the wizards from Fairy Tail that accepted your job request."

The mayor looked at them suspiciously at first before he spoke. "Let me see your guild marks."

Without hesitation the three showed their guild marks to the mayor. Lucy held up her right hand, Gray pulled up his shirt revealing the guild mark on the right side of his chest, and Arana proceeded to turn around and lift her shirt; but she quickly caught herself and rolled up her left sleeve showing the mark on her arm.

The mayor looked at them and breathed a small sigh of relief as he stood up, he smiled and walked towards the three wizards. He took Lucy's hand and shook it.

"Sorry for the suspicion, we've had some problems with dark wizards claiming to be from other guilds just to make easy money. That's why I asked to see your guild marks."

"Oh, that's ok." Lucy said with a smile, "We're here to take care of the monster seen outside of town."

"Are you three the only ones that answered the request?" The mayor asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Oh, no there are 7 of us. The rest are outside the building."

"Oh good, sorry to sound negative but you may need more than that." The mayor moved back behind his desk and sat down at his chair.

"What do you mean?" Gray asked.

The mayor began to rummage through his desk, pulling out a long piece of paper all rolled up. He then stood up and unrolled it on his desk signaling the three wizards to look at it.

The three obliged and moved closer to him. They looked at the paper and their eyes widened, Arana's squinting with anger. On the paper was a beast of frightening appearance, fur as black as the night sky, eyes as red as blood, it bared it's fangs and they looked as sharp as swords, with long fingernails that it obviously used to tear into its prey.

"What is this?" Lucy asked astonished.

"We don't know." The mayor replied, his body tense "It hasn't entered the town, but everyone who has left into the woods has never returned."

"Do you know where it came from?" Gray asked.

"No we don't, it randomly appeared in the forest one day. However there is something interesting about it."

The mayor once again looked in his desk and pulled out another piece of paper, he put it on the table and unrolled it. This time a symbol was drawn on it, obviously of magical origin, it showed what looked like an open hand with a circle made of small blades drawn on the palm, in the circle was a D that looked like a sword had sliced through the middle of it.

Arana tightened her fist in anger.

"What does it mean?" Lucy asked confused.

"We don't know yet, but…a close friend of mine found this symbol on the back of the monsters neck, before he died."

Arana continued to stare at the paper angrily, a rage building inside of her. "Draven." She said under her breath.

"What?" Gray asked her, faintly catching her words.

Arana suddenly looked up at Gray, "Oh, it's…it's nothing." She said slightly panicked, but Gray still looked at her suspiciously before turning his attention back towards the mayor.

Lucy continued to talk to the mayor, "Don't worry we'll take down this monster for you. We're not the strongest guild in Fiore for nothing." She smiled big and gave him a thumbs up, trying to reassure him.

The mayor simply smirked, "Thank you, I knew we could count on you."

With that the three wizards bid farewell to the mayor and returned to their friends taking the two pieces of paper with them.

"So what did the mayor say?" Levy asked walking up to Lucy and the others when they returned.

Lucy unrolled the pieces of paper and explained the situation to her friends. Wendy began listening to Lucy's explanation but became distracted when she noticed Arana standing off by herself, obviously something was on her mind.

She walked over to the grimacing redhead, "Are you alright Arana?" Wendy asked politely surprising Arana as her train of thought derailed.

She gave a warm but false smile to the young girl, "Yeah, don't worry I'm fine."

Wendy knew she was lying, but decided to leave it for the time being. "Ok, then if you say so."

"Come on you two, we're going to find the beast!" Lucy called. Arana and Wendy ran and caught up with their friends as they began to make their out of town.

20 minutes later, the group was out of town and in the woods. Each of them looking around for the behemoth.

"We should split up, and look for it." Lucy suggested when they reached the woods. "We can cover more ground if we all go in separate directions."

"You're right." Gray added, "I suggest we go in groups of 2, one of us will have to go alone though since there are 7 of us."

Gajeel raised his hand, "I'll go."

Levy looked uneasy, "But, Gajeel-"she began to protest.

"Don't worry about me," he said cutting her off. "I can cover more ground on my own, and my dragon senses can locate the thing faster."

"Ok." Levy relented but she was still uneasy.

The group was soon split in to groupings of two. Wendy & Levy, Lucy & Juvia, and much to Juvia's dismay, Gray & Arana. Juvia glared at the two, obviously angry that Arana once again was near Gray.

"Are we all ready?" Lucy asked looking at her friends. They all nodded in unison and began to split up but not before Levy stopped them.

"Hold on guys." She began rummaging through her bag, pulling out 7 glowing orbs giving each of her friends one.

"What are these?" Wendy asked in amazement as she held it up to the sun.

"I got them from Warren, they're infused with mental magic. Crush one and it sends a mental feedback to whoever has the others, giving the location of where it was crushed."

"Oh, I see." Juvia remarked staring at hers. "They are like homing beacons."

"Right." Levy commented smiling, "If you find the monster, don't try to take it on alone. Destroy your orb and the rest of us will come running."

"Alright, good job Levy." Lucy said smiling. "You guys ready? Let's Go!" Lucy yelled as the group held their index fingers in the air before the split up.

…

Gray and Arana searched the northern area of the forest. Gray had chosen to partner with Arana for a reason, and he thought now was better than never to get down to a mystery in his mind. They were searching different areas back to back as Gray opened his mouth:

"Arana?"

"Yeah?"

"What's Draven?"

Arana froze, she couldn't believe Gray had heard her clearly in the mayor's office. She answered nervously, "Wha…What do mean? How should I know?"

"Don't play dumb." Gray answered sternly as he turned around to look at her. "In the mayor's office, when he showed us the mark you looked like you had seen it somewhere before."

His line of questioning hurt, but Arana continued to play dumb, "I don't know-"

"You know what this monster is don't you?!" he asked more forcefully. "What is it Arana? And for that matter who are you?"

Her eyes opened in fear.

"You randomly show up after we defeat your guild in Lumina and ask to join Fairy Tail. We know barely anything about you, and now you obviously know something about this monster we're hunting."

She tried to protest, "Gray I…"she then looked up, her eyes widening as Gray continued to speak.

"If there is something you're not telling us and one of my friends gets hurt or worse…I'll-"

"LOOK OUT!" Arana teleported to Gray pushing him out of the way as a huge creature landed where he was standing.

BOOM!

"Dammit." Said angrily as she looked at Gray on the ground. He was a bit out of sorts but he was ok, he rubbed his head as he stood up next to Arana. He looked at the monster that fell and his eyes widened, it was the beast they were hunting.

"Are you alright?" She asked, not taking her eyes off of the monster.

Gray continued to rub his head then he took his shirt off. "Yeah I'm fine, thanks for the save." He looked at the monster as it let out a mighty yell. "Guess the thing found us 1st."

"It's called the Gracio." Arana said staring down the beast.

"So that's what the thing is called?" Gray grabbed the beacon orb in his pocket and looked at it, he then looked at Arana. "We're going to talk about who you are when we beat this thing."

The monster looked at them and let out a blood curdling roar. ROOAGGGGGHHH!

Arana smirked at him as she scanned his shirtless body, "Sure handsome I'll tell you everything, if we live."

Gray crushed the beacon as he and Arana raced off to meet the beast before them.

…

Gajeel was the first to arrive at his friend's location, the others soon catching up. When they reached Gray & Arana, their eyes widened in terror. Arana was struggling to stand while the monster loomed over Gray who was planted against a broken tree, his left arm bleeding profusely.

Juvia was the first to react. "Gray!" she turned herself into water and raced towards the man she loved.

"Juvia, wait!" Gajeel called to his friend but she didn't hear him.

"SIERRA!" her body turned hot as she struck the monsters back, hurting it.

RAAGGGHHH! It roared in pain as Juvia grabbed Gray, but she was too slow as the monster refocused on them, swing down its mighty arm to finish them off.

BWOOM! The trees themselves quaked at the force of the impact.

Juvia clinged desperately to Gray as she opened her eyes. Surprised she was still alive, she looked up to see Gajeel holding off the monsters hand.

"Gajeel!"

"What are you waiting for idiot?" He asked struggling as he dropped to one knee, "Get him out of here, I'll hold this guy off."

Juvia nodded and took Gray away from the area. With them safely clear, Gajeel parry the monsters attack and stepped back.

"Wendy now!" He yelled.

"O..ok." The young girl said meekly as she focused her energy, she summoned a small whirlwind that tripped the monster causing it to fall in its back.

The monster looked up to see Gajeel floating over it, it roared angrily once again.

Gajeel smirked and pulled his arm back, "Yeah, yeah maybe this will shut you up. Iron Dragon Club!"

His hand turned into and Iron rod and extended towards his fallen foe.

BAM! The attack hit its mark, striking the monster's chest hard, but it had little to no effect on the creature.

Gajeel landed on his feet and could watch in amazement as it stood up virtually unscathed.

Surprisingly, it could speak. "Draaagonn." It said frighteningly

"What the hell is this thing?" Gajeel asked to no one as it roared again.

Lucy pulled out one of her Celestial Keys as she watched Juvia tend to Gray.

"Open Gate of the Lion, Leo!" She yelled as she held her key in front of her. In a flash of bright light, Loke had appeared.

"You call me?" He asked sincerely.

"Yeah, we could really use your help here Loke." Lucy answered pointing at the monster. Loke turned around and his eyes widened in terror.

"What…what the hell is the Gracio doing here?" Loke asked astonished.

"Gracio? Wait Loke do you know what this thing is?" Lucy asked confused.

He glared at the beast angrily, "Yeah, it's an ancient and very powerful beast."

_But it should be sealed. Has HE been released after all these years?_ Loke thought to himself.

He shook his head, _Doesn't matter right now, I have to protect Lucy and the others._

"We can worry about what this thing is later." Gajeel yelled, "Right now we have to take it out."

"You're right." Lucy added. "Levy, go get Arana, we'll cover you." Lucy commanded not looking at her.

Levy nodded her head determined, "Right." She began to run towards Arana.

The Gracio noticed the girl's movement and ran towards her, Levy's eyes widened in terror, but she was saved by Loke who struck the beast hard in the face.

"Thanks Loke."

"Don't mention it, now go!"

"Right."

She soon reached Arana, and picked her up, draping the girls left arm over her shoulders as she helped her up. "Come on, let's get you somewhere safe." Levy said as they walked back towards the others.

Arana looked around and saw her guild mates taking on the monster, she began to have flashbacks to a similar event.

BOOM! POW! FLASH! DODGE! ROAR!

The battle was furious as Loke, Lucy, Wendy, & Gajeel fought the Gracio. Though their efforts were valiant, they were barely making a dent in the beast.

"No…stop, have to get…away." Arana said weakly as her and Levy continued to walk. Things soon began to take a turn for the worst.

RAAGHHHH! The Gracio bellowed, swinging it's right arm and striking Lucy.

"Ah!" She screamed as she was sent flying.

"Lucy!" Loke yelled.

"Dammit!" Gajeel yelled looking and the immense beast.

"Look out!" Arana called as her and Levy continued to walk, Levy looked to her right but it was too late to move.

"Lucy!" Levy tried to brace herself and Arana but Lucy was moving too fast.

Lucy flung into the two girls, knocking them over. Arana opened her eyes on the ground to see both Levy & Lucy knocked out next to her. As she observed the surroundings to check on everyone else, Gajeel was thrown into a tree and could barely stand, Loke was unconscious, and Juvia & Gray were both down as well.

Arana stood up weakly, holding her right arm as she looked at the devastation around her. She began to see her hometown burning around her again, the smell of death in the air, how the scene of her parents death had played out. She grabbed her head in despair.

"No, not again, it's happening again!" She fell to her knees as the memories came crashing down, only being drowned out by the monsters loud roar. _Should I use THAT?_ She thought to herself. _I can't, what if I mess it up?_ _I'm not ready. But I have to do something! _ She continued to ponder in despair until she heard a scream.

"AAAHHHH!", she stopped fretting to look for the origin of the scream, it was Wendy! The Gracio had her in its grip, and began to squeeze the life out of her.

"WENDY!' Arana yelled. As she watched the monster drain Wendy's life, she once again had a flashback. This time to her sister's death. The helplessness she felt when she cradled her lifeless form in her arms, the light as it faded from her eyes. She had a chance to save her then, but she didn't take it, she was too scared. _No, not again._ She thought as she stood up slowly. _I'm not running away anymore._ She looked determined now, she would swore that day that she would never let another person die due to her indecision, especially not the woman who taught her how to use her power.

She teleported in front of the monster, looking dead into its eyes. The Gracio roared unintimidated as it stared at Arana. Wendy, still in the monster's grip, looked at her friend as the blood began to drip from her cheek.

"Arana…get out of here." She said weakly reaching out her right arm.

Arana still stood defiant, clenching her fist as her magic energy began to rise around her. Everyone began to stir still hurt, but watching in amazement and horror as Arana faced down the monster.

"Arana run!" Lucy yelled

"You're no match for it, you have to go back to guild and get help!" Levy yelled after, but Arana couldn't hear them.

"This magic…" Juvia commented her eyes widening.

"I've felt this before." Gajeel said as he raised to his feet.

"It feels just like…" Wendy began astonished.

Arana clasped her hands in front of her mouth as if she were about to engage in prayer closing her eyes; the Gracio roared once more, moving it's fist to attack her.

_Father, lend me your strength._

She then cried out as loud as she could, her newfound friend's eyes widening at the sight they were witnessing.

"FIRE DRAGON….ROAR!"

FWOOM!

…

* * *

**Part 3 is up, sorry for the wait, let me know what you guys think :).**


End file.
